Loving Laney

by Lorna Jean Roberts

  He frowned. “Yeah, I’ve seen them. I don’t understand it, though. I mean, why the hell would someone want a dog with a spring neck in the back window of their car?”

  She shrugged. “Humans,” was all she said, as if that explained it.

  Shaking his head once again, he moved up to walk beside her.

  “Tell me something about yourself.”

  “Like what, sweet?”

  Laney shrugged. “I don’t know, I feel like you know everything about me but I know nothing about you. Tell me…tell me about your family. You have a brother, Alexander?”

  “Actually, I have four brothers.” He leaned over and grabbed her hand, ignoring the way she stiffened and tried to pull back.

  “Three younger and one older,” he said cheerfully as they moved closer to his cabin.

  “What are they like? Do any of them look like you?”

  “Oh, all of them look a bit like me I guess. My oldest brother, Alexander, is Alpha. He’s very serious, takes his responsibilities to heart and always has. Our father was Alpha before him. When he retired, Alex won the right to be Alpha, not that there was much competition. The twins are next after me, Connor and Cade. They stick together. You rarely see one of them without the other. They’re Alex’s enforcers. Then there is Georgie, only he hates being called that. Insists his name is George. He’s a computer geek, pretty good one too. He’s also the only one of us who had a mate, until now. Jessie, his mate, works with him.”

  “You miss them.”

  “Of course, they’re my family.

  “Why did you leave then?”

  He sighed. “Because both Alexander and I are strong personalities, born leaders our Mom would say. I like to be in charge, to get my own way. If I had stayed I may have tried to take the pack from him simply because it’s my instinct to lead, not to follow. I can take advice, but in the end I need to be the one in control. I didn’t want to fight my brother, so when I had the chance to lead my own pack I took it. It felt like the right thing to do.”

  “What about your parents?” she asked as they walked up the steps to the cabin.

  “Ahh, well, as soon as Dad retired, he and Mom took off on a long overdue holiday to visit some friends. I think they wanted to give Alexander the chance to draw the pack under his leadership without Dad being in the way. They should be home soon. We’ll have to invite them to visit.” He smiled down at her as they walked through the house, his face growing serious when he saw her distressed expression.

  “Hey!” He reached out and, grabbing hold of her arm, dragged her into their bedroom to sit beside him on the bed. “What’s wrong?”

  “Wrong? Nothing, why would anything be wrong? Everything is just fine with me, isn’t it fine with you?” she babbled nervously as she stood and grabbed some clothes out of the wardrobe.

  “Everything’s fine, huh?”

  “Yep,” she nodded, grinning widely. “All right if I have the first shower?”

  “Not a problem.” He waited until she turned away. “Oh, sweet?”

  She turned back, still smiling.

  “It’s not that I mind you borrowing my clothes, but do you really want to sleep in three pairs of my pants?”

  Laney looked down at her hands, embarrassment rushing through her as Cooper stood and gently took the pants from her hands. He moved to his drawers and pulled out a large black t-shirt, but as she reached out to grab it he refused to let it go, waiting until she looked up at him.

  “Now how about you tell me why the idea of my parents coming here terrifies you?” he asked gently. His wide hands landed on her shoulders in a gesture meant to be comforting, meant to relax and soften her. Instead, the gentle massage of his thumbs on her tight muscles made her pulse quicken in awareness, her womb clench and tighten.

  She avoided meeting his gaze, looking over his shoulder. She noticed a cobweb in the corner of the room and made a mental note to get rid of it. She detested spiders.

  “It’s not that it terrifies me—” she began. How did you explain what a fuckup you were to someone so strong, so confident and normal?

  “You are not a fuckup,” he growled at her.

  Damn, that mate bond kicked in at the worst times.

  “Want to explain it to me, baby?” It may have been phrased as a request but she knew it for the order it was.

  “It’s just that I don’t really know how to be part of a normal family. I don’t know how to talk to parents. What if they don’t like me? What if they think I’m too fucked up for you? I mean, what do I even say to them? God, I’m such a moron! Why are you even with me?”

  “Sweet, don’t you know that these are normal worries? Everyone worries about meeting the in-laws, about making a good impression. You would be weird if you didn’t worry about it.”

  “Really?”

  “Really, but you don’t have to worry. I promise that they will love you. Now get in the shower before I decide to join you.” He waggled his eyebrows at her suggestively before landing a slap to her bottom to get her moving. She squealed, frowning at him as she rubbed the sting from the abused cheek.

  “You are such a pain in the ass.”

  “Sweet, don’t give me ideas.”

  Chapter Six

  Laney climbed into her car with a sigh. She was knackered. Job-hunting was exhausting at the best of times, but when she was desperate it was even worse. She was fast running out of money, and although she had a roof over her head and food to eat, she didn’t want to become complacent.

  One thing she refused to do was ask Cooper for money—he was her partner, not her sugar daddy. She snorted as the image of Cooper dressed in a glittery coat, a cigar hanging from his mouth and bling around his neck drifted through her mind.

  It was hard to believe that it had been a mere ten days since she’d awoken in Cooper’s bed. He’d become such a huge part of her life that she dreaded to think what would happen to her when he came to his senses and realized she wasn’t good for him. When she was with him, she felt safe, secure and protected for the first time in her life.

  The newlywed period had yet to fade, for either of them. He couldn’t walk into the room without her eyes being drawn to his large, muscular frame. She couldn’t brush past him without wanting to touch that warm, silken skin, without wanting to kiss his firm lips. His touch had become like a drug to her, she craved it, lived for it. Laney shivered, her body trembling with a brush of arousal from just the memory of him caressing her, stroking her.

  She pulled away from the curb, looking anxiously at her gas gauge. Lord, she hoped she had enough to get home. How humiliating it would be to have to ring Cooper or one of her brothers to come and collect her.

  Still, at least she had her car. Without it she’d be stuck at the estate pretty much 24/7. Her brothers had brought it back with them after they’d cleaned out her flat. Cooper had refused to let her return with them.

  “Come on, come on,” she urged quietly as the car struggled to make its way up the steep hill. “It’s all downhill from here on, you can make it. Keep on truckin’, keep on truckin’. Yes!” She let out a celebratory fist pump as the car made it over the crest of the hill. As she hit the first corner on the downhill slope she put her foot on the brake.

  “Shit!” she swore, pumping again.

  “Goddamit!” The brakes were gone.

  “Oh hell, oh hell.” Laney could feel herself panicking as she tried to remember what to do. Rye had been a thorough driving instructor. She knew he’d gone over how to handle failing brakes. She slipped down into a lower gear and kept her foot pumping on the brake as she raced toward the next corner. There was a little pressure there, enough to slow her down to take the corner safely.

  Thank God I’m used to driving like a speed demon, she thought as the adrenaline rushed through her. Praying no one else appeared on the road, Laney turned the car from one side of the road to the other, managing to reduce her speed slightly as she gradually pulled on the handbrake. This slowed the
small car some more, but it still didn’t stop. Using all her strength, she pulled it onto the shoulder of the road so she was driving on gravel.

  The car slowed enough to take the rest of the corners safely until she finally reached the bottom of the hill. Shaking, she pulled over and came to a stop. Her breath sawed in and out of her lungs as she sat limply, the adrenaline drop leaving her as weak as a babe.

  A bang on her window had her sitting up with a scream as she stared out at the man by her door. Cain, one of Cooper’s enforcers, peered down at her. The huge, dark-skinned man was someone she didn’t know very well. He’d joined the pack after she’d left.

  Laney rolled down her window, needing two hands because she was shaking so much. Her heart beat so fast in her chest she was sure he could hear it. At least the mate bond hadn’t decided to kick in—it remained shaky, coming and going irregularly. Laney wasn’t entirely sure why the bond was so weak, and didn’t know anyone else she could ask about it, but she had a fairly good idea. She figured that it was weak because she was weak. Part of her was terrified that as frail as it was it could be broken, and she wasn’t sure she could survive that.

  “You okay, Laney?” Cain asked in his deep, resonant voice. “I was behind you, looked as if you were having some trouble.” He nodded to the black truck that was parked behind her. Hell, she hadn’t even noticed him behind her. She brushed the hair off her face, wishing she could control her shaking.

  “M-my brakes went. I was t-trying to slow m-myself down.” He frowned down at her before stepping back to take a look at her car.

  “It-it’s true.” She thought he looked doubtful.

  “Oh, I’m sure it is. No one would drive that erratically unless something was wrong or they were drunk.” She thought she almost saw a small smile cross his lips, but that was impossible. The very stern-looking enforcer never smiled, well, not that she’d seen anyway.

  “When was the last time you had the brakes checked?” he asked. Laney undid her seat belt, attempting a smile of thanks when he held the door open for her.

  “Umm, my neighbor Josh used to take care of it. Maybe I should get them checked out, though.” Just how the hell would she pay for that?

  He just nodded. “Grab your stuff.”

  “W-what?” She looked up at him, and it was a long way up that she had to look. He had to be at least six feet five.

  “Grab your stuff and I’ll give you a ride. I was on my way to your place anyway.”

  “Oh right, thanks. Will my car be all right here?”

  He looked at her, his lips definitely twitching. “I don’t think anyone will want to steal it, kiddo.”

  “Huh.” She looked at her car, noticing the patches of rust, the front bender that was held together with duct tape, and the wire coat hanger she used for an antenna. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

  She was surprised as he held open the passenger door of his black truck for her. Somehow she just hadn’t expected such old-fashioned manners from him.

  “You said you were heading to Cooper’s place?” She couldn’t quite call it home yet.

  He didn’t bother to look at her as he pulled out. “Yep.”

  “How come?”

  “The Alpha called a meeting.”

  “What about?”

  He shrugged in reply.

  “You don’t really like to talk, do you?”

  He did grin then, turning to look at her. “Nope.”

  “Why not?”

  “Maybe I have nothing to say.”

  Laney snorted. “You live on the east end of the estate, don’t you? There’s not many pack members down that end is there?”

  “Nope, it’s nice and quiet.”

  She blushed red, moving her hands nervously, rubbing against the tops of her thighs.

  “Sorry, I talk a lot when I’m upset. Very annoying habit, especially when you like quiet. Sorry, I’ll try to shut up now.” She managed to sit quietly for about thirty seconds, but it was too much, the silence brought back the full body tremors as her mind replayed her near miss.

  “Are you sure my car will be okay? Maybe I should have stayed with it while you went and got someone to tow it.”

  He sent an incredulous look her way. “Leave the Alpha’s mate alone when it’s getting dark, while I go get someone to tow a heap of junk?”

  “It’s not that bad,” she muttered.

  “Kiddo, its one piece of rust away from falling apart.”

  “You know, I don’t think I’m that much younger than you. So you really can’t call me kiddo.”

  He just grunted.

  “Why’d you move here? I mean, Zachary didn’t have the best reputation, no one with any sense of decency usually wanted to move into our pack.”

  “Who says I have any decency?” he growled softly as he parked the truck in front of Cooper’s house. She undid her belt and reached across to open the door, surprised when he grabbed her arm.

  “Wait until I come around and get you.” Laney sat waiting until he walked around and opened her door. She took his offered hand, letting him help her down from the cab. She didn’t care what he said, there was definitely a decent man under all that gruffness.

  Laney walked inside, Cain walking closely behind her. She may only have known Cain for a short time, but she knew he took his job as an enforcer seriously. He was extremely cautious, and she was certain not much passed him by. Even now she knew his eyes would be roaming, watching for a threat, and felt safer because of it. Stepping into the living room, she came to an abrupt stop as a room full of people stopped talking to stare at her.

  “Hey, sweet.” Cooper rose to his feet and leaned down to kiss her softly. “You know everyone here, right?”

  She looked around, nodding at those in the room. It was filled with Cooper’s enforcers. Her brothers were there, along with Justin, a tall, thin, blond man who was a couple of years younger than she was. Justin sat next to Jesse, an attractive man with sad green eyes. Beside Rye sat a tall, curvy redhead, Dusty, one of only two female enforcers. Tina, the other female enforcer, was currently visiting her cousin out of state. Beside her sat the last enforcer, Josiah, a sweet-talking, dark-haired man with dusky skin. She’d always thought he had Indian blood, but had never had the guts to ask him.

  “Laney, where’d you leave your car?” Cooper looked over at her, frowning slightly as he walked back into the room. She hadn’t even noticed him leave. He handed Cain a beer.

  “How did you know I didn’t drive up in my car?” she asked, puzzled.

  Cooper stared at her, his face impassive, but she saw the wicked glint in his eye.

  “Well, sweet, besides the fact that it’s hard to miss its rather unique presence in my driveway, it makes a rather distinctive, loud noise.”

  “That fan belt’s worse than nails on a blackboard,” Marcus interjected as she watched Jay hide his smile.

  “It has character.”

  “Oh, it has character, all right,” Jay agreed. “I haven’t quite seen anything else like it. That wasn’t already sitting in a junkyard, that is.”

  Laney glared at her brothers, wishing they were alone so she could give them what for, but she still didn’t feel comfortable around the rest of the pack yet, especially the most dangerous, strongest members, all of whom were currently watching their byplay with a range of emotions from humor to disgust.

  “Laney, where is your car?” Whoops, not a good idea to ignore the Alpha, even when he was your true mate.

  “Oh, umm, I had some car trouble so Cain gave me a ride. Can someone tow my car? It’s only a few miles away.”

  Cooper frowned. “Sure, I’ll go grab it after our meeting. What’s wrong with it?”

  “Oh, nothing much.”

  “Uh-hmm,” Cain cleared his throat.

  “I-I’ll tell you later, once everyone is gone.” She thought Cooper was going to push it when he stood and folded his arms.

  “What’s this meeting about?” she asked hastily.
>
  “Its enforcer business,” Dusty spoke up, a nasty tone to her voice. Laney stood stock-still for a moment before shaking herself.

  “Of course, I’ll just go and do some washing.” She made to move away but Cooper grabbed her arm, stopping her.

  “Actually, as my mate, Laney has as much right to be here as anyone.” He spoke firmly, his gaze falling on each one as he dragged her along to sit beside him.

  “Cooper,” she whispered urgently.

  “Sit, sweet. You want a drink?”

  Laney shook her head. She sat uncomfortably beside him for the next hour. Distaste seeped from every pore in Dusty’s body, and Laney’s discomfort grew with every second that she spent in the other woman’s presence. Searching her memory, she tried in vain to think of a reason for the other woman’s hatred. But she pushed that aside as she focused on the conversation around her, which had turned to Cooper’s plan to reform the Western States Council. It was an ambitious plan. The Council had fallen apart years ago and no one had ever had the guts to try to reinstate it.

  “You sure you want to do this?” asked Dusty, her voice skeptical. “I mean, going and speaking to each of them is just the first step. Then they’ve got to agree to a meeting, a meeting that we’ll have to provide all the security, entertainment and accommodation for, not to mention try and keep a tap on all those egos.”

  Cooper shrugged. “It’s the only way we’re going to get anywhere. We can’t remain segregated, cut off from humans for the rest of our lives, and expect to prosper. And if we want humans to accept and trust us, then we need to work together, not fight among ourselves.”

  The others broke into a discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of Cooper’s plan before he brought them to silence with a raised hand.

  “So,” Cooper spoke again. “We’re all agreed. Rye will tackle half of the Alphas and I’ll meet with the rest. Two of you will go with Rye, two with me, and the rest of you will stay and protect the pack. Justin, you’ll be in charge here.”

  Justin nodded.

  “Good, then I think that’s all.” He looked over at Rye, who nodded. Laney waited until everyone had left except Cain and her brothers, before turning to Cooper.